Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-05-05
AS COSTLY AS JEWELS.
Flowers Cost More Than Gems During the So
cial Season.
New York Mail and Express.

Flowers Cost More Than Gems During the So
cial Season.
New York Mail and Express
During the fashionable social season
more money is spent for cut flowers in
cities than for jewels. Since the English
fashion of plant decoration has become
SO popular in America immense amounts
are every season expended for the loan of
foliage specimens. The moving of plants
in frosty weather is attended with great
risks, and the exposure to gaslight and
the jostle of throngs do further damage.
Most florists who have largo and costly
collections reserve one greenhouse for
a hospital, where plants damaged when
loaned are placed for recuperation.
For decorating drawing rooms when a
wedding is to take place from $500 to
| 81 900 gives a handsome distribution of
choice plants and flowers. An Easter
tide wedding will occur where wide bay
window is to be made into grotto and
| filed with blooming plants. There will
be profusion of hybrid roses on the
mantels, under the mirrors, in corner
vases and freplaces. The decoration will
| cost $500. Hybrid roses, such as Baro-
ness de RothschiId, Mabel Morrison and
the like. cost from 81 to $1.50 each.
THE PURITAN ROSE.
| preserving its perfection week, is sold
for 81. Jacqueminots and Marechal
Neills are so cents each, and fine Perles
| DIES Jardins are from 80 to 40 cents. The
| rosiest of all roses. La France, in color
and perfume, brings from so cents to 81,
according to size.
| A society leader, who is about giving
| today the sixth of her Saturday dinner
| parties, has partiality for the Almi de
| Diesback rose, which has been dubbed
| Gloire de Paris by florist. Twelve
dozen of these roses are arranged in sill
yer vases on her table. They cost 81
| each, and besides this the taste in arrange
ment must be considered in the bill.
Dinner decorations cost from $25,
which pays for a pretty centerpiece of
tulips or bulbons bloom, to 5000. An
| orchid table embellishments when satin
| is furnished, is worth $500. Orchid
flowers bring from so cents to $3.50 each,
and sprays cost from So to $S. An
! orchid wedding bunch is not made up for
less than $50. Wedding bouquets of
bride roses and lilies are worth from SIS
to $50.
CLUSTER OF vIOLETS
must be among the roses and spring
| flowers at whatever cost. Boxes of cut
flowers cost from So TO SIS. This is the
most favorite style of floral gift, for
| flower lovers have the double delight of
| arranging the vases. A gentleman from
California last week ordered, two days in
succession, 5000 worth of cut flowers
to the house of the friend he was visit
| ing, that the ladies might have the pleas
ure of distributing them to their taste
| throughout the apartments. German
favors are gotten up with considerable
expense. Slxty-two cornusopias, costing
81 each, were the floral favors presented
lately at Brooklyn cotillon. The rose
| punches given at balls and dances contain
from six to dozen blossoms, which, if
selected, are worth from 40 to IS cents
each. A fruit set of Dresden china
was mounted on a pyramid of flowers
the piece costing $3.50, the flowers being
worth $3.50. A rose basket sent to a
favorite actress very often brings 800.
Baskets of fine flowers cost from $40 to
$50, according to size and skill in ar
rangement. Plants growing being intro
duced into the fashionable Easter basket,
make them more costly. The deliberately
braided rush fish baskets valanced with
satin and bound with sashes costs, with
| out filing, from So to $40.
AS rule, all work done in churches is
procured at the lowest figures, the profit
to be found accruing from the patronage
of the congregation.
ALTAR DECORATIONS,
although elegant and elaborate, are done
from $50 to $50; large masses of cut,
nj 70
into use. It may be supposed that de-
signs made OF greenery, such as fern
baskets, victory palms for caskets, or
decorations in gardenesque style are less
expensive than if cut flowers are used.
This is seldom the case. Only an artist
can arrange foliage effectively. Designs
made of ivy, myrtle, clematis, and saxi-
frage, as was banj 10 last week, when the
strings were the stems of foliage, are
really works of art and bring high
price.
If the cost of cut flowers is enormous
the money spent for the establishment
of gardens is much more astonishing.
The carpet beds at Hollywood Park,
Long Branch, are an example of this
outlay. Four beds were laid out as Turk
ish rugs, the intricate patterns being
forked out in echiverrias. The bed
were 200 feet in length by 25 width, and
these contained 100000 of plants. To
plant 100000 plants requires 1000 days
labor, for 500 is as many as even an ex-
pert gardener can set in day when plant
ed to form these elaborate designs;
while the work necessary in training and
caring for them must take an additional
amount of labor equal to the first planting.
When to that is added the sum for lifting
these plants as winter approaches, the
sum total for all is about $4,000 annually.
This is but an instance. The cost of the
display for lauascaping and gardening
in suburban grounds along the Hudson
River is almost incredible.
His Only Regret.